The Arctic Council, the International Maritime Organization, and the Polar Code

Abstract

Numerous scientific investigations and multilateral efforts have contributed to our understanding of environmental challenges and how to deal with them; yet little effective and coordinated action has been taken. We review existing literature on climate clubs and on international society in the English School of international relations in order to assess how environmental and security risks can result in the formation of international institutions that seek to transcend the free-rider problem. We then ask what factors explain the emergence of the International Code for Ships Operating in Polar Waters (Polar Code) adopted in 2014, and how powerful states worked through the Arctic Council (AC) and International Maritime Organization (IMO) to establish it. We identify three parameters with respect to the shipping industry and Arctic region that made this advance possible at the nexus of environment and security: the identification of culprits, great power interest, and the socio-economic context. We find a degree of success even when substantive differences exist both inside and outside of the region and industry. Thus, the case study points to important applications of these parameters for future environmental peacebuilding.